In 2025, fire departments serving Laurelville responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Accident, potential accident, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
465 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60 | — | |
| 2022 | 91 | +51.7% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -7.7% | |
| 2024 | 122 | +45.2% | |
| 2025 | 108 | -11.5% |
For the 18 building fires Laurelville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 100 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 27 | 27.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 11 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 15.0% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Laurelville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Match | 8 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 15.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Laurelville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Laurelville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,184 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 6.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 197 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 146 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 137 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 128 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 128 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 47.4 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Laurelville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.